The Mystery of Rabbitpaw
by Bugwa
Summary: A young OceanClan Apprentice has been kidnapped... will Willowmoon and friends be able to stop the rogue before it's too late? From RP at Defender Descendants. /fogpelt14


The Mystery of Rabbitpaw

**A/N: Hello, everyone! This Is my first fic here on FanFiction. Please note that it is written by a variety of different people, and is taken directly from an RP at Defender Descendants. **www. freewebs .com/fogpelt14** See you at the bottom! Oh yeah, does anyone know how to do line breaks? ^^;**

Willowmoon padded out from her den, stretching in the morning light. What a beautiful day, she thought. She padded over to the Nursery.

She bounded in to the Nursery. "Hi, Seakit," she mewed to the tiny black kit, "I'm Willowmoon, the leader of this Clan. How are you feeling?"

"Okay," she answered. "I feel like I need to be in the water, though." Seakit tries to get up, but stumbles, falling back down to the soft ground.

Willowmoon bent and gently lifted the little scrap. "Be careful, little one. Wouldn't want you to take a tumble on your first day in OceanClan!" she purred. She gave the kit a few vigorous licks and dashed out to start the Clan meeting. Seakit looked longingly out of the Nursery entrance/exit. She looked back at one of the Queens a pleading look in her eyes. "Please?" she whispered weakly, afraid of the answer. "Oh..." She looks down sadly. "Maybe tomorrow?" Seakit looks up hopefully. Her eyes shine brightly. Maybe I should explore the Nursery to know my surroundings, Seakit thought happily. She padded around the room letting sand clouds go up in the air behind her feet.

Just then, a Warrior stuck his head in. "Hey Seakit," he mewed, "Willowmoon wants you to experience a Clan Meeting!"

"Yay! Bye!" she said to the Queens that were on duty. Seakit padded happily towards the Nursery exit, stirring the sand. The sand sprayed across the Queens.

She leapt up to the top of the Highstand in a single bound, thanks to her Skyclan-descended leg muscles. "All cats old enough to brave the ocean waves please gather 'round!" she yowled. Seakit looked all around her, trying to take everything in. Seakit could see everyone gathering around a slightly raised bluff, the Highstand. Willowmoon smiled down at Seakit, her chest puffing out when she saw the kit's deep admiration of the Clan. "She'll be a fine Warrior someday," she murmured."

She cleared her throat. "The hunting is very well. On the dawn patrol, we'll have [blank], [blank], and myself. [deputy]?" [The Deputy lists the hunting patrol.] Meeting adjourned!" she gracefully bounded down the HighStand and paused to speak with Streamkit. "Streamkit," she mewed, "May I have a word?"

Seakit was disappointed. She thought that the Clan Meeting would be longer. _Back to the Nursery_, she thought. All of a sudden, Seakit thought of something. _If I need to have someone take me out of the Nursery, then I probably need to bring me back into the Nursery_, she thought excitedly. So Seakit pranced around the camp, exploring every nook and cranny. She looked for someone to play with, but she knew none of the other cats other than Willowmoon, who was talking to Streamkit. Besides, every cat was either busy or ignoring Seakit. She sat down and waited for someone to bring her back to the Nursery.

"... and now I must be going," Willowmoon concluded to the awestruck Streamkit. She raced towards the exit of the camp, feeling more alive than she had in years. "[blank] and [blank], to me!" she called over her shoulder as she departed for the dawn patrol.

Willowmoon padded out of the camp, flanked by [blank] and Cherryheart. She breathed in the fresh salty air and motioned for her patrol to hang a left. She paused to mark a tree, then continued. Cherryheart padded quietly alongside her Leader. She always kept her crimson head down and her fluffy tail limp when she interacted with those cats of higher ranks. Her silky fur swished as she pushed along some loose scrub.

Willowmoon lowered her tail and friendly yowled, "That's all for this area!" She raised her head high and charged down the scent trail. Startled by the sudden yowling, Cherrydawn spun on her pads and ran after Willowmoon, hard on the paws of [blank].

Willowmoon sashayed into the little clearing and started sniffing fervently. "I knew it," she murmured, focusing on a small tuft of fur. She raised her head and steelily looked Cherryheart in the eye. "Let's go back to camp," she said solemnly, "We have intruders." She whisked back towards camp, leaving her puzzled patrol in the sandy clearing. Cherrydawn wanted badly to sniff at the clump of fur a bit, but obediently raced after her Leader.

Willowmoon burst into camp and flew up to the HighStand. "All cats old enough to brave the ocean waves please gather 'round," she yowled in a voice like honey-covered yarrow; calm, with a hint of something amiss. Her tail twitched nervously -or was it impatience?- as she waited for her Clanmates to assemble. Cherryheart assembled at the base of the Highstand, anxious for her Leader's plan. She gazed down at her Clan, took a deep breath, and said, "While on patrol, I found a scrap of Rabbitpaw' fur." She met eyes with the kidnapped Apprentice's mother, then looked down.

Collective Clan: WHHHHHAAAAAAAAAT?

What's happening?, Seakit thought. She looked at the cat next to her. "Who is Willowmoon looking at? Who is Rabbitpaw? Why is Rabbitpaw important? Is Rabbitpaw bad?"

"That's a lot of questions!" a shimmery blue Apprentice replied. "Willowmoon is looking at Rabbitpaw's mother. Rabbitpaw is an Apprentice and was kidnapped! Rabbitpaw is not bad. You must be Seakit. I'm Dewpaw. "

"Hi, Dewpaw," Seakit mewed happily. "So, what's going to happen now?"

The Medicine Cat Apprentice shook her head. "I don't know Seakit, I just don't know..."

Willowmoon flicked her tail for silence."This is the first we've seen of Rabbitpaw since she was allegedly abducted a moon ago," she continued, "Hopefully, with this clue, we will be able to take up the scent trail again. I will place it in this hollow stick of driftwood, so that you all may take a sniff without it being contaminated by your scents." She proceeded to stuff the tuft into the driftwood and placed it on the sand in front of the HighStand. "At moonhigh, report your findings within the territory to me, and we will discuss what the best course of action would be." She swished her tail and leapt off the HighStand. "Meeting adjourned!"

"Willowmoon! Can I help?" Seakit scrambled to keep up with the great warrior, but was herded away by the Queens. Dewpaw stared back at the small kit. She wished that Seakit stayed for a couple of minutes to talk about the news with her, but she was too late. Dewpaw sighed and headed towards the Medicine Cat. Cherryheart was shocked. A mystery? In their own Clan? Cherryheart shivered, waves of discomfort rippling through her lighted pink fur. She could barely imagine what it would be like, being kidnapped when she was only an Apprentice. Cherryheart unsheathed her claws, raking them through the soft sand. That young she-cat had her whole life before her! Becoming a Warrior, fighting in battles, finding a mate, having kits... Cherryheart vowed to do everything she could to safely return Rabbitpaw to her home.

Instead of going over to the Medicine Cat, Dewpaw padded over to Cherryheart. "What are you worried about, Cherryheart?" she asked, "You look concerned." Dewpaw cocked her head to the side. Cherryheart threw a skeptical sideways glance at Dewpaw. The Apprentice seemed entirely sincere as she bounced on her pads. Cherryheart felt strangely irked as those sparkling green eyes bore into her face. She let out a long breath, clearing her mind. She had no right to be so harsh on the young Apprentice, who was more than likely simply concerned for her missing friend. She managed a small smile. "I was just pondering the circumstances on the mystery." Cherryheart looked full into the round silver face, and made a decision. "Why don't we go search the territory together?"

Dewpaw looked up eagerly. "Yes, I'd love to!" She bounced up and down, waiting to go. Cherrydawn smiled weakly and quickly padded out of the camp, checking to see if the Apprentice was keeping up with her as she bounded across the dunes. Dewpaw bounded after Cherrydawn.

Cherryheart slowed as she walked between two huge chunks of driftwood. The Apprentice seemed to be keeping up well. She glanced at the sky. The moon was on the rise. Cherryheart swept her tail out signaling Dewpaw to stop. Crouching low, the reddish she-cat sniffed hard, trying to pick up on a scent. Sensing nothing, she looked to the silver cat at her side, inquiring upon her success at finding clues. Dewpaw looked all around. Finally, she thought she smelled something on a low tree branch. Dewpaw motioned up with her nose. Cherryheart cocked her ears in the direction of the low hanging branch. Dewpaw was right! There was a trace of a scent. Going out on a limb, Cherryheart padded towards it. Dewpaw followed Cherryheart, keeping on the lookout for intruders. Dewpaw thought that she saw some blood on the stick. The blood smelled like Rabbitpaw's scent. Another scent followed, but Dewpaw did not recognize it. Cherryheart leaped for the stick, pushing Dewpaw away. After sniffing at it fervently, she sat back on her haunches, relieved.

"Dewpaw, you should really- I mean, it's just-" Cherryheart stopped and regained her composure. She really hadn't meant to snap at the young Apprentice. "I know that we've all been a little jittery for the past moon, but everything's fine. Rabbitpaw's scent is very stale, and I believe that the blood is rabbit. We can scent Padfoot and Juicestripe around here, too. They must have been hunting."

Dewpaw looked disappointed, although her hunting skills weren't as fresh ever since she became a Medicine Cat Apprentice. She quickly replied, "Come on, let's go back and check in to Willowmoon! Maybe there's more news on Rabbitpaw there!" Dewpaw raced into camp grounds.

Cherryheart looked disconcertedly after Dewpaw as the Apprentice hurried away. "I'll catch up later." Cherryheart felt a kind of selfish anger rise up within her as she spun on her paw. She darted around the branch, deeper into the territory.

Willowmoon gazed around warily, her mind still reeling over the fresh mystery. She spotted the Medicine Cat, who looked a little relieved that Dewpaw had departed, and padded over to zun. "Anything from MoonClan yet?" she murmured into zur ear. "I don't know, Willowmoon," zun meowed sheepishly, "To tell you the truth, we haven't shared tongues in moons." Willowmoon gave him a reassuring lick. "Everycat knows you're doing your best," she murmured, then lowered her voice still further. "How are the poppy seeds working? Have you been able to sleep well?" Willowmoon's emerald eyes were soft with sympathy. Rabbitpaw had been zur daughter. "Anyways, I'm sure we'll find her," Willowmoon declared with more confidence than she felt. She straightened up, and bounded off to investigate. I'll start at the dune where I found the fur, she thought. Seakit was too shy to interrupt Willowmoon and the Medicine Cat, so she bit back her words. When she saw that Willowmoon was going off to investigate, Seakit decided that it was time for her to learn her sneaking skills. Seakit headed off to follow Willowmoon.

Willowmoon strolled up the side of the dune, her head bent to the ground, trying to catch a whiff of Rabbitpaw's scent. Her ears pricked up as she found the trail, and followed it, until it stopped at... the water. Mouse dung, she thought, angrily dashing her paw against the surface, No cat can track through water. Her tail drooped, and she turned around to return to camp. Seakit saw Willowmoon slash in anger and cowered behind a tree. When she saw Willowmoon returning to camp, she started to panic. No, no ,no! This can't be it! We just got here! Seakit thought in desperation. In her panicking, she cracked a twig, which made a big SNAP! Seakit then scuttled over to a big pile of leaves and buried herself underneath it.

Willowmoon whirled around, her fur fluffing up in alarm. Then she spotted a tiny black tail poking out from a quivering patch of leaves. "Oh hi there," she mewed, letting her fur fall flat. "Seakit, is it?" Her whiskers twitched with amusement as the fluffy black head poked out with a squeal. "Helping with the mystery, are you? Well, we'd best be getting back to camp. I've found nothing here," she added, with a hint of regret in her chipper mew. "You can ride on my back, if you like," she offered. Seakit was ashamed of being found spying on Willowmoon. She simply replied, "No thank you," and walked alongside Willowmoon.

"I insist," she mewed playfully, and scooped Seakit up by her scruff and raced off through the sand. Seakit squealed and hung on tight for the ride.

Willowmoon padded into camp, at a notably slower clip than when she and Seakit had left the dune. "We're here," she panted, "Go back to your Queen." She realized that she had forgotten to reprimand the Kit for leaving Camp, she simply shrugged and thought a quick prayer to MoonClan that Seakit would not make a habit of it. Seakit thanked the Leader and wondered what Willowmoon meant by going to 'her Queen'. Seakit didn't have her own Queen. But all the same, Seakit bounded towards the Nursery. She nodded hello to the Queens, curled up into a small black ball, and fell asleep.

Dewpaw looked behind her suddenly realizing that Cherryheart wasn't following her. She slowed down and went over to Willowmoon to let her know that Cherryheart didn't follow her back to Camp. Willowmoon nodded, and asked Dewpaw if she wanted some freshkill. "It appears in all our excitement, we skipped the Sunset Meal," she observed, her green eyes twinkling and belly rumbling.

Dewpaw suddenly was starving. "Yes Please!" she said eagerly. Willowmoon flicked her tail and padded over to the freshkill pile. She picked up a nice juicy crab and motioned for Dewpaw to step up to the pile. She glanced at the sky, and saw it was almost moonhigh.

As the gibbous ascended to its peak point in the night, Willowmoon dashed up to the HighStand, yowling "All cats old enough to brave the ocean waves, please gather 'round!" She paced nervously among the weeds. Dewpaw leapt over to the HighStand, Seakit racing right after her. The Leader looked down at her assembled Clan, a growing sense of unease in her belly. "Is every cat accounted for?" she asked.

Dewpaw spoke up, "I still haven't seen Cherryheart since I went to look for Rabbitpaw with her." Willowmoon nodded thoughtfully. "I thought we had all agreed on the meeting time," she muttered, low enough so that no one could hear. "Well, she could just be on a really hot trail," she assured the Clan. "Anyways, what has everyone else found? Seakit and I went out, but found only a cold trail that ended in the sea."

Dewpaw mewed, "Cherryheart and I found a scent of Rabbitpaw and blood on a tree branch, but Cherryheart reassured me that it was stale and the blood was a rabbit's. She also said that we have found Juicestripe and Padfood's scents around there." Seakit muttered something frantically, then proceeded to faint."There's a cat standing in the distance," Boltkit blurted. "And... umm... what is wrong with Seakit? She looks a little bit stressed out."

Willowmoon looked down at the two kits. "Repeat that for the Clan," she commanded. "And speak slowly. Now, what exactly did you see?"

Seakit slowly got up and came back to consciousness. She mumbled, "Looks like some brown fur, there." Seakit pointed at the tree. "Some other pinkish fur there. Peaches and fox scent." Seakit got up painfully and picked the two furs from the tree and handed them to Willowmoon.

"I saw a CAT in the distance!" Boltkit added excitedly. Willowmoon sniffed the brown clump tentatively. Her entire body stiffened. "I must take this to the Medicine Cat," she announced, "Dewpaw, where is zun?" to which the silver Apprentice replied, "Right behind you." Willowmoon whirled around and whispered in a low undertone, "Meet me in my den, immediately." She then raised her voice. "Meeting adjourned! No one is to leave the Camp without telling me first!" As she passed Dewpaw, she murmured, "Take me to the last place you saw Cherryheart later." Then, she padded into her den for her conference with the Medicine Cat.

Dewpaw nodded. "Of course, Willowmoon."

"Hello? There is a cat STARING at you over there Willowmoon! Hurry it's walking away!" Boltkit yowled. Graystorm nodded at several Warriors, and they began trailing the strange cat. "Go back to the Nursery," he ordered the Kits gruffly as he passed.

"Yes, Graystorm" Boltkit mewed softly.

Willowmoon padded into the den. "That's funny," she muttered, "I smell Seakit." As she shrugged this off, the Medicine Cat burst into the sandy den. "Get a whiff of this," she said in a low voice. Zun obliged, then zur eyes widened. "No!" zun squealed franticly, "Wasn't he banished back when we were Apprentices?" Willowmoon nodded. "Exactly. He's..." She swallowed hard, then met the Medicine Cat's anxious gaze. "Rune is back."

Dewpaw was too curious to just sit back and relax, so she crept up to the entrance of the Leader's Den and listened to what was happening. Willowmoon bumped into Dewpaw as she exited her den. "Hey, Dewpaw," she mewed, "Ready to go?"

Dewpaw mewed excitedly, "Yes, Willowmoon!" Maybe when they were out, Dewpaw could ask Willowmoon about what she was discussing with zun! Willowmoon sniffed all around as they padded away from camp. "I smell her," she whispered. She flicked her tail for Dewpaw to follow her as she tracked the sweet she-cat's scent. Dewpaw followed Willowmoon. Willowmoon trudged up a dune, following the scent of the missing Warrior. _Yes_, she thought, _these are definitely her claw tracks_. Then she found an area of scuffle-marks, marred by the scent of... Rabbitpaw! And... her eyes widened.

"Come have a look at this," she mewed to Dewpaw, motioning with her tail. "What do you smell?" Now was as good of time as any to assess an Apprentice, she figured. Dewpaw sniffed curiously.

"It smells like Rabbitpaw, peaches, and fox and..," Dew paw's eyes widened, and she took a step back "...Cherryheart. What does this mean?" Dewpaw mewed. The Leader was silent for a moment, wondering how much to tell the Apprentice before her. "It's Rune," she replied finally, "A Rogue, who we haven't seen near our territory for moons." Dewpaw thought, _Oh no!_ and she raced after Willowmoon towards the Camp.

Willowmoon dashed into camp, skidding on the sand. She looked meaningfully at Dewpaw, then padded over to her Deputy and Chief Warrior for an impromptu conference. She stifled a yawn, seeing as it was well past moonhigh. The three high-ranked cats began conferring in muffled tones. Dewpaw looked at Willowmoon and sighed. She guessed that having a little peace and quiet would have to wait. A bunch of cats were crowding near her, asking what had Willowmoon in a tizzy. Willowmoon nodded once more to her colleagues, then she swiftly clawed her way up the HighStand, her paws settling into their familiar indentations. She swallowed hard. "All cats old enough to brave the ocean waves please gather 'round!" she cried, her voice breaking a little on the word 'all.'

Dewpaw was relieved that she didn't have to go against Willowmoon. She replied, "You'll all find out in a second." Dewpaw gathered underneath the HighStand to hear what Willowmoon would say. Willowmoon looked down at her assembled Clan. It wasn't going to be easy to tell them this...

"Cherryheart has been kidnapped, too," she blurted, rather unprofessionally. She felt her fur go hot, but she continued nonetheless. "Graystorm, Dewpaw, and I must leave tomorrow, at dusk." She met Graystorm's blue-gray gaze, then Dewpaw's grassy one. "That is... if it's ok with you?" Dewpaw and Graystorm both answered at the same time. "Of course," they replied. Willowmoon nodded, but made a mental note to get the Medicine Cat's approval later. "Moreover, Dewpaw and I made an important discovery," she continued, "A Rogue, who we haven't seen near our territory for many seasons, has returned to the OceanClan borders. We also found evidence to speculate that he is linked to the disappearances of our Clanmates." She paused for a moment. "His name is Rune, he reeks of fox and peaches. If any cat sees him, report to the Deputy or Chief Warrior immediately, who will be in charge for the duration of my absence." She nodded at the cats who would accompany her on the journey. "Meet me in the Medicine Cat den after you've said your goodbyes at dusk. Meeting adjourned!" With that, the dappled Leader strode off the HighStand, only to be surrounded by puzzled cats. She began to answer their questions. Dewpaw went over and said her goodbyes to Seakit and went into the Medicine Cat den to say goodbye to zun and await for Willowmoon and Graystorm. Willowmoon eventually broke off from the gaggle of questioners and made for the Medicine Cat den.

Dewpaw padded inside and said to the Medicine Cat, "Goodbye, zun." Zun gave Dewpaw a few herbs that the cats would need on their trip. Just then, Willowmoon arrived in the hollow, closely followed by Graystorm. "Before we get our traveling herbs, I would like to discuss our mission." She nodded for the three cats to get comfortable. "We are going to try to trail Rune through No Cat's Land," she told them. "We will have to be careful. He is a dangerous cat, with a dangerous past." She took a deep breath. Graystorm noticed how pretty the roof of her mouth was. "Many moons ago, he fathered my kits."

Everyone gasped. Dewpaw was very confused. "So that would mean that you were mates either when you were an apprentice, or you snuck out of camp to see him," Dewpaw commented by remembering what little she heard about Rune's banishment from outside of the Leader's Den earlier. Graystorm was...well...he looked...Dewpaw couldn't describe it. She wasn't sure if he was upset, disappointed, angry, or something else that she couldn't identify. "If he was your mate, then why would he kidnap cats from your Clan, Willowmoon?" Dewpaw asked.

Willowmoon's eyes darkened. "Back in my day, he was everycat's mate," she replied bitterly. "He told me I was the only one. I believed him. He took our kits..." A single tear leaked down her brown cheek fur. "I never saw Berrykit and Stripedkit again," she whispered. Graystorm stroked her comfortingly with his tail. "So, we are going to reclaim Cherryheart and Rabbitpaw," the spotted leader continued strongly. "As I said before, we leave tonight." She paused. "Unless... you don't want to come? It will be dangerous," she added softly.

Graystorm leapt to his paws. "Mousebrain!" he yowled, "Of course I'm coming! I can't let you go meet that... that.. monster all by yourself!" Willowmoon nodded her thanks. "Dewpaw...?"

"Of course!" Dewpaw mewed eagerly. "This is my first journey with you, Willowmoon, and I want it to be special! Also, you'll need a Medicine Cat with you, and treating two is better and easier than treating more than two dozen!" Dewpaw glanced at the Medicine Cat's concern and said, "Don't worry zun, we'll be okay! I will follow every one of Willowmoon's directions, and I'll keep everyone smiling and happy along the trail to No Cat's Land!" Dewpaw gave Graystorm a friendly shove to the side. Willowmoon grinned. "Then it's all settled," she mewed, relieved. "Rest up today, ok? No patrols... or gathering herbs." She looked pointedly at the medicine cat, then sashayed out of the medicine cat den with a spring in her step, off to a nice, peaceful catnap. Willowmoon curled up in her mossy nest, not a worry in her mind. Well, not unless the biggest mystery she had ever seen as Leader wasn't a worry... She drifted off into a dreamless sleep. Dewpaw decided to stay in the Medicine Cat's Den for the day, to avoid the other Apprentice's questions. Dewpaw also decided to have a nice and small catnap. She curled up on the floor and had a whirlwind of dream-thoughts waiting for her in her sleep.

**So as you can see, I'm having some trouble deciding how to divide it into chapters. Any ideas? More chapters coming soon!**


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